Saudi Arabia Gambling

Saudi Arabian Gambling Laws

Gambling is illegal in Saudi Arabia. This is due to
the country being governed under Islamic law, with the
Qur’an being considered the constitution of the country.
On a side note, Islamic law also forbids public cinemas,
eating pork and drinking alcohol.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also controls the content
which its citizens can access over the Internet. It does
this by using a sophisticated filtering system which
aggressively targets sites involving pornography,
gambling, drug use, filtering circumvention tools and
religious conversion of Muslims.

Facts About Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (also referred to as The
Kingdom) is located on the Arabian Peninsula and is
bordered by Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. The country has an
estimated population of 27.5 million, making it the 14th
largest state in the world.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading exporter of
petroleum, and this counts for 90 percent of their
exports and three-fourths of government revenues. Many
tourists also make pilgrimages to the nation, as Makkah
and Medina, the two holiest locations in Islam, are
located within the borders of the country.

The Saudi legal system can be harsh, prescribing
amputation of hands and feet for crimes such as murder,
robbery, rape, drug smuggling, adultery or
homosexuality. Public drunkenness can earn the offender
a flogging. It is also the only country in the world
which forbids women to drive.

As of 2006, the population of Saudi Arabia was
estimated to be around 27,019,731. Eighty-five percent
of these citizens are ethnically Arab. The major
religion is Islam, with most of the populace adhering to
the theological interpretation known as Salafism or
Wahhabism.

The Saudi Royal Family

Saudi Arabia derives its name from the House of Saud,
an Arabian royal family with influence in the Arabian
peninsula dating back to the 18th century. The Saudis
were just one of many such houses until World War I,
when the Saudis allied with the British government in
ending Ottoman Turk power and influence in the Arabian
peninsula.

The Saudis eventually established Saudi Arabia in
1932 and had the ambition to unite the entire Arabian
peninsula under their rule and under the influence of
the Wahhabist version of Sunni Islam.

There are estimated to be about 7,000 members of the
Saudi royal house, though only the 200 or so closest in
succession are thought to hold substantial political
power.